Surely someone noticed that I wrote Senegal when I meant Suriname in my post above.....? How embarrassing.

You’re getting some good advice, but part of the deal is that stuff changes, sometimes without warning. Suddenly, no visa for Brazil, where it used to take at least a week and cost dearly. But you might arrive there and discover that visas are again required, for no apparent reason. Keep your ear to the ground and look for information on government websites—your own, or the country in question. Don’t bother calling embassies except in very special circumstances (the nature of which I, at least, can’t imagine).

French Guiana insurance can be evaded by getting EU Green Card insurance, even though it will probably exclude French overseas territories. Hardly anyone ever needs to know this, since it’s a bit off the tourist trail.

Mark

markharf,

Yeah, I noticed and was going to tell you to go post in the Africa forum. but decided it was a typo.

markharf's advice is spot on and the best advice, things are this way today and different tomorrow. In Latin America "anything is possible and nothing is certain." The rules say this and the experience of some travels confirm the fact, then someone else says they just got away with the opposite. I have read again and again that original documentation is 100% required, then I traveled with a guy who only had copies of his Mexican title, etc. Some advice clearly makes life easier to get across frontiers with minimal hassle.

PS: I did the less-traveled route, Venezuela > Brazil > Guayana > Suriname > French Guiana > Brazil. I called that trip my South American Sampler. To that end, Guayana, Suriname, French Guiana...been there, done that, no great pull to go back. I look forward to the day when Venezuela is a reasonably safe place to visit again. Angel Falls and the lower falls were completely worth the effort.

Many riders skip or only dip into Brazil; a less traveled country given its size. Brazil is flat out a great country. I returned last December (by airplane) to see Rio de Janeiro (again), Iguazu Falls and Yucumã Falls / Mocona Falls (look it up, it's wild.)

__________________
Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride